


Escape

by Rin_the_Shadow



Category: Transformers (Unicron Trilogy), Transformers: Cybertron
Genre: Battle Scene, Character Study, Decisions, Friendship, Gen, Override is a good leader, Perspective flip for "Champion", budding friendship, racing scene, she is also very stuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 17:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rin_the_Shadow/pseuds/Rin_the_Shadow
Summary: She claimed she would have been happy racing her life away. The truth was, she'd been looking for a way out long before.





	Escape

She’d been every bit as aware of the disturbance as he had. It was hard not to be, what with the announcer crowing out his disbelief. Having been eliminated from the race, Ransack and Crumplezone had decided they would simply steal the Planet Cup.

Honestly, at this point she would say she was disappointed if she could still be surprised by their behaviors. She almost had to laugh as she remembered the difficulty she’d had in determining who was telling the truth between Megatron, and Hot Shot along with Optimus Prime. After all, what kind of “hero” condoned blatant attempts at violent sabotage? The differences in her interactions with them had been clear. She wondered how she’d managed to miss it before.

Though Hot Shot expressed concern over the attempted theft, Override knew that the Planet Cup’s security system wouldn’t be broken so easily. It was more annoyance than anything that made her give the order to deal with them. She’d put up with far too much from those two in recent years, and it was about time she showed her people just what she thought of that kind of thuggery.

Not to mention, if they didn’t deal with it, Hot Shot would be distracted during the race. If she was going to win this, and she planned to win this, she didn’t want to beat him just because he’d been halfway up his own processor with worry.

They’d run away almost as soon as she and Hot Shot had arrived. Not that _that_ was any surprise. They had always been the type to flee the scene as soon as someone stronger showed up. Honestly, what a joke.

She turned back to the kid. “Come on, we have a race to finish.” But something wasn’t right. One hand was held over his chassis, and he had an expression of shock and pain that he couldn’t quite manage to hide before she saw it.

“What? Oh, yeah.” He winced and hissed. That didn’t sound good.

Override knew she should suspend the race, order him into a repair chamber and postpone everything until he was fixed. But the Planet Cup was a strange relic, almost an entity unto itself. If she ordered the race postponed, it might reject one or both of them the next time, and then where would they be?

But then, the organic he’d brought might be able to patch something together. She wasn’t entirely sure how, but she’d seen smaller in terms of the nanites they sometimes used in repairing cracks in the roads. And he’d be able to improvise, unlike the nanites.

They’d bantered back and forth, Override and Hot Shot whipping around the corners and feeling more alive than she had in years. Whatever had gone wrong, obviously they’d found some way around it.

As they rounded the last one, he called out, “I’m still here!”

Had she been in her robot mode, she would have grinned. “Well let me take care of that for you then!” Suddenly, she was pulling ahead—or rather he was stalling. She found herself disappointed even as she snapped back, “Oh, what’s the matter? Can’t keep up?” She supposed she should have known better than to race an injured opponent.

But she couldn’t slow down. Even if she could adapt perfectly to his level, even if she still defeated him, she would never know who had truly been fastest. Besides, hadn’t he claimed the universe was in danger? If it was so important, why couldn’t he find a way to keep going? Yet even as she thought it, she knew it wasn’t fair.

A roaring of engines behind her let her know he’d caught up even before the announcer’s voice rang out over them. Good. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about racing full out. “Pretty nice moves,” she conceded. “Too bad it won’t matter, ‘cause I’m going to win _right now!_ ”

Silently, she commanded her engines to rev and gun. Huh, she guessed she’d slowed a bit earlier after all.

Then, there it was. The call for a Cyber Key. He’d closed the gap, nose to nose with her as they fought for that first place. She could see the struggle, and yet her circuits buzzed with exhilaration. For the first time in a long time, she actually had a challenge!

The announcer crowed louder and faster, but she could barely hear him over the roaring of her engine, the scream of turbo boosters pushing them further on.

And then in an instant they had crossed the finish line! Who won? “It’s a photo finish!” A voice rang out as the crowd went wild. All that, and it wasn’t over yet.

It had taken a lot out of Hot Shot. She could hear it in his voice as he congratulated her on a good race. “You too,” she replied.

She had said the only way to settle things on Velocitron was to win in a race. But she’d seen a lot in that second heat alone that had done more than that to convince her of who was telling the truth. Where had Megatron been when this kid had nearly thrown a race to save her from the tunnel collapse? Where had he been when his subordinates had destroyed entire sections of the track and deliberately altered the course? Where had he been when her mentor _took out his own cooling system_ to save a fellow contestant from sinking into the sand vortexes? And yet the Autobots had been there the entire time. It was pretty clear who to trust by this point.

Realistically, there was next to no way Hot Shot had beaten her. He was racing injured, and from the sounds she’d heard, something had ripped loose during that final stretch. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of them if she’d thrown the race—and if he was anything like her, the idea of being “allowed” to win would infuriate him—and neither would be able to accept anything less than all-in.

So maybe it didn’t have to end with her taking the Planet Cup and going back to the way things were before. Reality was, she didn’t want it to. When the call was announced, she’d offer the Planet Cup to the Autobots on the condition that she be allowed to join them on their mission. She could appoint Brakedown in her absence. He’d been more than capable before, and he would be more than capable now. Yes, that was what she would do.

For a split second, she didn’t realize the photo was onscreen. Even after, she couldn’t hear the announcer’s voice. It was like her engine was still roaring in her receptors.

But then the photo wasn’t hers. It was Hot Shot’s.

There was a pang of shock, a little disappointment, but above that…something like relief, even as a bewildered, “No way, I lost!” slipped out. She turned to him. “Good race.” Oh, well. So much for joining them, now that she'd lost her bargaining chip.

Then a portal ripped open and the Decepticon leader appeared, flanked by a small force of warriors—as well as Ransack and Crumplezone. Figured it wouldn’t be that simple.

Megatron alone, she might have taken. She had no delusions about it being an easy fight, but she knew the environment, and she’d trained plenty for combat in case it was needed. But he’d brought warriors she’d never seen before, most of them fliers, by the looks of it. Taking three of them at once was a gamble she knew she couldn’t win.

And yet even as she prepared for the inevitable, Optimus Prime’s Autobots were at the ready, meeting the Decepticons where they stood and holding them off. Her track was upheaved and reduced to a warzone, yet somehow, this didn’t anger her as much as she expected. No, what angered her was Megatron’s complete disregard for her planet’s customs, how even Ransack and Crumplezone, two who had _lived there for their entire lives_ , could throw it all away in the blink of an eye. Of course. Looking back, it had always been obvious who to trust.

Optimus Prime had fallen, and Override had witnessed his combination with the one he called Leobreaker.

But even as it looked like he had it handled, Hot Shot approached her. “We have to do something!” She wondered if that was always his first thought.

Well, she guessed she _did_ owe Megatron one for her race track. And everything leading up to it.

She and Hot Shot had sped under his feet, knocking the Decepticon leader off-balance for Optimus Prime to finish. “Have a nice trip, Megatron!” her words had been teasing, but in reality, she’d wanted to say that this was for Velocitron.

The narrow-bodied flier had cried out as his commander lost his grip on the Planet Cup, but his aim had been too high when he’d leapt after it. She sped towards it, transforming in time to grab it and slide. He’d snarled at her to hand it over, Megatron had growled threats of revenge, and then they were gone. Heh. Let them try.

* * *

 

Hot Shot was crowned the winner at the ceremony above the ruined track (well, not exactly ruined, but there was enough damage to annoy her). Override thought over her earlier plan to join up. It wasn’t like she _had_ to win in order to do so. As she handed the trophy over, she spoke up. “You may have defeated me,” she said, “but I owe you a thank you.”

She continued, “I would’ve been happy racing my whole life away.” That much was a lie. She hadn’t been truly happy with it for years. “But you showed me there’s a whole universe out there, so thank you.” This was the way out she’d been seeking all this time. She’d get out, she’d do some good and learn alongside the Autobots. Maybe she’d find what was missing and bring that principle back to Velocitron. Or maybe it would just be something for her. That could be fine this time, couldn’t it?

He hadn’t understood at first, but once she’d explained, his expression lit up. Optimus had been a little more reluctant, but she’d argued for her place. “It’s even more dangerous sitting around doin’ nothin’ while Megatron plans his evil schemes!” She stood straighter. “Let me help you. I _know_ that I can make a real difference.” It was her planet at stake, too, after all.

For a moment, she thought he would argue back. But then he extended his hand. She wondered if he was reminded of some other time. “We’d be glad to have you, welcome aboard!”

She would fight alongside them, for Velocitron, for the universe, for the team, and for herself as well. It was all just beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Override has been one of my favorite and one of the more interesting characters to me for awhile now. I've often felt that she wasn't entirely honest when she claimed she'd been happy racing her life away before, since both the second half of "Space" and parts of "Hero" seemed to imply she wasn't.
> 
> The other characters who were in the scene in the episode, "Champion" are also in this one. It's just that Override isn't entirely familiar with everyone's names yet, so I occasionally took liberties with who she recognizes and who she doesn't at this point.
> 
> In any event, let me know what you think!  
> ~Rin


End file.
